On Senior Day, the Florida Gators hoped an emotional spark from senior forward Dan Werner coupled with the need for a marquee win would earn them a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Gators (20-10, 9-6 SEC) fell 64-60 to the No. 13/19 Vanderbilt Commodores (23-6, 12-3 SEC) at home at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Werner played well for most of the game, contributing eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and two steals, but an accidental tip-in of a Commodores layup late in the second half may very well have cost Florida the game.

Redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin was a rock for the Gators, scoring 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting with a game-high nine rebounds. However, freshman guard Kenny Boynton shot a paltry 2-for-15 from the field (1-of-6 from downtown), sophomore point guard Erving Walker only added five points on 1-of-9 shooting (0-for-3 from beyond the arc) and junior F Chandler Parsons – the team’s spark plug and most reliable player – barely contributed, only shooting the ball four times for three points.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida vs. Vanderbilt game story after the break!
Continue Reading » Tourney chances slip away as UF falls to Vandy

Tags: A.J. Ogilvy, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, John Jenkins, Kenny Boynton, O'Connell Center, Ray Shipman, Senior Day, Vanderbilt Commodores, Vernon Macklin

In the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, the Florida Gators (11-4) fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores (12-3) 95-87 Saturday afternoon in Nashville, TN. Vanderbilt won its sixth straight game while Florida ended a three-game winning streak by losing its first SEC opener since 2001.

The Gators, who have won 15 of the last 18 meetings against the Commodores, were shredded by junior center A.J. Ogilvy who scored 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor while going 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. Senior guard Jermaine Beal added 22 points for Vanderbilt.

Freshman G Kenny Boynton and sophomore point guard Erving Walker led Florida with career-highs in points (28, 22) in 34 and 36 minutes, respectively. Boynton was 10-for-21 (6-of-14 from three) while all five of Walker’s 10 total shot attempts were treys. Redshirt junior C Vernon Macklin (two points in 14 minutes) and freshman forward Erik Murphy (four points in 13 minutes) both fouled out early as the Commodores absolutely dominated the Gators in the paint and on turnovers (13-7).

Florida returns home to face the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Thursday at 9 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN.

Tags: A.J. Ogilvy, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, SEC, Vanderbilt Commodores, Vernon Macklin